Drinks Americas: Roy Yamaguchi's Y Sake

By JULIETTE ROSSANT How much is a celebrity chef's brand worth? One clue maybe found in a recent IPO of Drinks Americas Holding, Ltd. (DAH). One of DAH's many brands is the Y Sake line created by Roy Yamaguchi. The stock (DKAM.OB) debuted on June 3, 2005, on the NASDAQ Over the Counter Bulletin Board (OTCBB) and was recently trading at $1.55. DAH's CEO J. Patrick Kenny says that his company does not focus on celebrity chef brands but rather "Icons" anything from Swiss T to Willie Nelson to a coveted liquor from South America or the recently launched "Newman's Own All Natural Sparkling Lemonades and Fruit Juice Drinks." This week, DAH announced formation of a new fine wine company to import "super premium" wines from around the world (see press release). DAH creates the product, packages it and the celebrity or icon approves and backs it. Kenny says this differs from the typical licensing deal many celebrities are offered: A licensing deal is where a celebrity gets cash, or ongoing cash, to put license or name on a product. Our model is we take a trade mark that is associated with the icon, and we build a brand, a superior product, that is better than the price point. Kenny wants to avoid the "Britney Spears bubble gum" dilemma, consumers will buy once for packaging but not twice if they are disappointed by the product behind the celebrity's name. Why go public? Valuation, simply put. We are a growth company. we are projecting significant growth. We are raising money. We know an open evaluation will benefit us. Last month, DAH also entered into exclusive distribution agreements with a foreign producers, like a recent deal with Damiana Importing, Inc., which granted DAH the long-term rights to import Damiana, a Mexican liqueur famous for its glass bottle molded to the shape of a pregnant woman, often used for mixing margueritas. Roy's Y Sake is important, says Kenny, because unllike Japanese premium sakes, Roy's Y brand's label is in English. It was brought to the company by Shep Gordon who is also partners with WIllie Nelson in his Old Whiskey River Bourbon and Bourbon Cream. It was relaunched in February, says Kenny, and is agressively sold in many of Roy's restaurants. Shep, a long time music and film producer, heads up Alive Entertainment and was one of the first agents to manage chefs starting with France's Roger Verge. The board also includes: Fredrick Schulman, Esq. (former CEO of Gourmet Group), Marvin Traub (former CEO of Bloomingdale's and Chairman of Marvin Traub Associates), Tom Schwalm of Greenwich Beverage Group LLC (former President of SOBE), and Bruce Klein of Victory Partners. Superchefblog says: watch this stock. How well it grows over time will help measure the value of celebrity branding, including celebrity chef branding. Previous articles: Xmas Spirits: "Club Rocco" Brand? Chef Branding: B&G Foods Exposes Emeril? Technorati Tags: chefs food restaurants cooking branding cuisine wine spirits food and beverage celebrity branding --> back to superchefblog